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I bent these African Blackwood sides today using my new bender. They bent pretty darned easy actually . I was a bit worried because the wood was so expensive and it seems to have a reputation for being a little stubborn but it was a piece O cake.

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Wow, that is one serious bender you have there John. Talk about Monster Garage. Well done. Looks like it worked like a charm.

Got to make me one of those.

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That looks like a router speed control being used as a temp controller.

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Chris Nielsen
Soquel, CA.

That's what I use chris, works great.

Hey John, any chance of seeing more pictures of the Imbuyi/cedar ooo? I bought some nice Imbuyi from the Zootman and was planning on ebony trim but have not decided on the top wood yet, but after seeing that one pic on your site, well, I think the choice is easy.

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

I LIKE it!!! I just bent another set on my lightbulb bender tonight, and
I must admit I think these days are over. Blanket bound...

I'll be picking your brain on this one John! Thanks for the post.

Cheers,
-Dave

[QUOTE=Rod True] That's what I use chris, works great.

Hey John, any chance of seeing more pictures of the Imbuyi/cedar ooo? I bought some nice Imbuyi from the Zootman and was planning on ebony trim but have not decided on the top wood yet, but after seeing that one pic on your site, well, I think the choice is easy.[/QUOTE] Rod bloodwood also looks very nice with imbuia.

John very cool setup. I'd like some pic's of the imbuia guitar for my website.

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1109 Military Rd.
Kenmore, NY 14217
(716) 874-1498

Real nice, John. I'm going to have to try my cutaway rig. Haven't had the nerve yet, but you inspired me.
Nice Job!!

Me too John, love this awesome bender Man! Nice set up!

Serge

John, I'm curious about your cutaway tower. Do you use the bar/spring idea to hold the wood up tight to the caul? So then do your molds all have a slit in the apex of the cutaway for this bar to mate into?
That's the idea I've been trying to work out in my head but I can't make it happen. (too much beer in college maybe) Could you snap a pic of the mold and it's groove? Thanks paul

John, that is one mac daddy side bender maing.

it dont look like no sleeper sofa anymore

Great job John. Those cutaways make us all sweat. Killer contraption, those sides didn't have a chance, they were gonna bend in the hands of the master. What's that? You had your fingers crossed behind your back?????

Hi John:
Great looking HD benders. Do you have interchangeable waist cauls for different body shapes? If so, how are the cauls attached to your bender and how do you change them? Is there a side guide in the farmework that keeps your cauls from kicking sideways?

I have the adjustable leaf waist cauls on my benders and often though about using dedicated cauls for each body. The adjustable leaves are kind of a pain to adjust every time I change body styles but they are probably no worse than changing cauls.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

John, nice work keeping the sap wood!

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Man,That is one industrial strenghth bender you have there John! I see you use the little Stew-Mac thermometers. Nice..........Thanks for sharing the pics!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

AHA!-- nice to see another closet welding addict on a site that is so immersed in wonderful wood. John, I wanted to zoom in and check out the welds. Clever design and such nice execution. I kept some of my welding and metal fabricating stuff when I retired fom sprint car racing and although I am going to let John Hall outfit me with my first bender, I will print and save this thread for later inspiration. Sometimes when I am thinkig jigs and such I regret selling my Tig welder- so many things would work so well with stainless steels-especially considering the moisture involved in the bending process.

John, how do you layer the wood and blanket(s) between the steel and do you use 1 or 2 blankets?

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“If God dwells inside us like some people say, I sure hope He likes enchiladas, because that's what He's getting”
-jack handy

John...Nice bender and really nice blackwood set...they are getting tougher to find in that quality. Would are you using for binding..it is tough to make out..is it blackwood also?Shawn38747.4116203704

Thanks guys, It works great and I like that it's heavy and doesn't move around. It's up high where I can see it and easily work on it.
Paul, your absolutely right, if you notice the closeup of the cawls, you'll see that the center line of the guitar is about 1 1/2" above the bottom of the form so I had room to make the index slot for the support bar. It works just like the waist bar.
Tim, yes I make waist and cutaway cawls for each different form, kinda a pain but they fit great. There are flanges on the end of each screw that are screwed to eack cawl with a bolt into the end of each screw that allows the screw to rotate.
Mike, I am not the fabricator. I am blessed with a good friend and longtime musical cohoert who is also a metal fabricator.
J.Brown, the sandwich stainless steel/wood(wraped in paper) heat balnket/steel. Just one blanket from John Hall with a router controller for the temp.
Rod & Bob, you know I still haven't finished that guitar. I had buffed thru the finish last summer and haven't gotten back to it yet. As soon as the current guitars are ready for finish, I hope to do that one as well.John How38747.4231828704

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

John, that thing looks pretty tough. Appreciate the pics.

Larry

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WOW! I don't feel like bending over a hot pipe anymore!

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John--Do I understand correctly that you are not using a stretcher when bending the cutaway?
Nelson

Not on the cutaway bout, I tried that. It turned out to be much more complicated as I was trying to bend the cutaway in two operations and I couldn't get strong enough springs to apply the needed pressure. What I had planned was to have the front swing arm pull the side down around the horn and then bring in the cawl and pull the swing arm back up to horizontal. I was having to switch the spring pressure from the outer to the inner band Like I said, too complicated. This setup seems to work pretty well so I'm sticking with it.John How38747.7113541667

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.